Sparking Truth

With a sharp gasp, my eyes slowly peeled back. I felt the crust loosen, my eyes heavy as ever. It took me a moment to realize that I was still on the ground. Everything ached. I felt run over. I gathered a breath and slowly sat up. I winced at the pain. It wasn't just the scars, something felt...heavy. I don't know if it was my soul pouring into my blood or what had happened the night before.

The dirt felt packed and hard even underneath my red capelet. Yet it felt like comfort, like home. A feeling I haven't gotten lately. A feeling I needed. The sound of the wind gently wisping through the branches. Or even a faint scurry from a fox or another creature. The forest felt welcoming, which is partly why I'm in this mess in the first place. I pushed off my hood, letting myself breathe in the damp, thick air. It was a beautiful lush green clearing. I heard a woodpecker behind me and several other birds in the surrounding area sharing chippers that sounded like a melody constructed by an orchestra.

The sun was in front of me, fully past the horizon line, but not too far past. That way must be east. It's probably around eight o'clock in this area of EverGale Medows... I wonder if that's where I still am. I felt the sun seeping into my skin. It felt good, but didn't warm the chill in my bones.

Then I heard a crack.

I ducked low and stayed silent. My hands instinctively gravitated towards the inside of my cloak. I felt my eyes spark, just barely.

“NICOYA! YOU AMAZING TROUBLE-MAKING GREMLIN! YOU'RE HERE! NEVER DO THAT AGAIN! YOU SCARED ME TO DEATH. YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T GO OFF ALONE!”

“Caitleigh! YOU don't scare me like that. I didn't know who made that sound. I was ready to fight. You could have gotten hurt!”

I jumped up to embrace her in a hug. We both started giggling. I don't know why, maybe the stress.

“How did you find me? I’ve been out here for a couple days.” I asked worried about how long she's been out looking. I took a step back to look at my friend. She had actually prepared. She was wearing mostly black-covered clothes and even brought a coat. I didn't know black existed in her closet other than the ones with musical titles written on the front.

“It doesn't matter right now. Are you ok?” She squinted at me. Quieting her voice to something more gentle. “Do you remember everything?”

“What?” I asked genuinely confused. “What do you mean remember everything?”

Caitleighs eyes widened slightly, and her smile faded. Just for a fraction of a second. Then she acted normally as if pretending nothing had happened. She started acting a bit nervous.

“ How long has it been since you ate?” She tried steering the topic away quickly.

I scowled. She was trying to protect me from something.

“Caitleigh, I’ve known you for years. You're trying to ignore the question. What's going on” I said in a warning tone. She should know by now that I'm not going to let something like that go by now.

She sighed. Her usual over-the-top energy faded, looking exhausted. She sighed with sad eyes and started explaining. “I followed you because I was worried about you. You promised you wouldn't run off alone again. I didn't trust you so I enlisted the help of someone else to help me look through your stuff knowing you would make another move.

I felt a gross mix of emotions: anger, distrust, dishonesty, disappointment, pity, guilt, regret, anxiety. Just a gross pit of knots weaving inside me. I felt my eyes spark a bit. Then I caught it. I almost believed her for a second. When my eyes sparked, she relaxed. Barely noticeable. That wasn't it. She wasn't telling me everything. Now I’m purely angry. She probably didn't lie, she wouldn't do that to me, but she tried to trick me. Purposely made me feel that way. She used my way of feeling. I told her how mad and vulnerable that makes me feel. How insecure I am about that.

She froze. She saw the shift in my mood. She saw I caught the lie, her little act. My face felt light as if on fire.

“CAITLEIGH! You lied to me, didn't you? “ I meant to be angry but my voice cracked and I wanted to punch a tree. My voice was pleading I misunderstood. "I can't believe you. After I told you. You still used my emotions and then my spark as confirmation.” I felt stinging in the corners of my eyes. I bit my lip to keep everything in. But when I looked at her, she looked away, face full of guilt.

I turned my back to her, collecting myself. I stared out into the forest hoping it would burn away my tears. I glared at it like it insulted me. I hated feeling things so deeply. I wiped away my tears, turning my face hard. I took a breath and walked back to face her.

“ Tell me everything. What's going on? What happened? My voice steadied as I demanded though my voice still thick.

She looked at me full of sorrow and regret. She looked a bit shaken. We rarely ever get upset at each other.

She winced almost as if what she said next would make it worse. Slowly, softly, barely above a whisper she said

“I'm sorry” I wasn't even sure I heard it. I looked at her as she looked at me hurt. I feel bad... but I can't stop now. I picked my path.

She took a deep raw breath and continued. “ Do you remember why you are here”

“What do you mean. How wouldn't I, I told you I've been out here for a few DAYS looking how would I not know.”

“Do you?” She simply stated.

I waited for more, starting to get angry, blood boiling. But then I froze.

Memories flew at me almost instantly at that moment. Days of preparing and mapping out my course. But they stopped right about a day or two before I left. Almost like a glitch. Tampered with. Then I try and think back to the other memories. Like names and words written on the maps. They were blurred. Almost as if someone didn't want me to have this information. I started to panic. Thinking back on everything I could. Caitleigh interrupted my thoughts.

“-What were you doing before I found you?” Worry etched into her face, clearly catching I didn't remember.

Blank. My mind is blank. The last thing I remember is I woke up. From what? What had happened? Did I pass out? Suddenly the panic reached my veins. Things I remember once falling out from under me. Where was I? My eyes darted around looking for answers. My chest tightened. I tried to step back, and I stumbled, twisting my ankle and slamming against a tree. I tried to scramble back from the world, failing miserably.

Caitleigh jumped up the second she saw the look in my eyes. Then a spark, not a small one. The biggest she's seen in a while. “Nicoya! NICOYA! Do you hear me? You're ok. Your ok. I'll explain. Please calm down. Let me help you. You're here now. Not back there. It's me Caitleigh, remember? Caitleigh.

For a second I felt trapped, stuck in darkness. Smothering darkness choking me down. Pressure so heavy my knees gave out. I didn't know anything. Suddenly I heard something break through the void. At first, it sounded familiar but gibberish. Then wherever I'm at, cleared a bit. It stopped pushing me deeper. I was just suffocating. Then I heard it again more gibberish that sounded familiar. The one word from what sounded far came closer said it again. “Caitleigh” It took me a second to put the pieces in place. CAITLEIGH. MY BEST FRIEND. CAITLEIGH. Suddenly reality zoomed in. I was coughing hard and I couldn't stop. Color swatches everywhere finally began to take shape. Caitleigh was kneeling beside me. That's when I realized I was on the ground, my back to a tree.

“Breathe, breathe, you're ok. Here I brought some water. Drink.” I wanted to refuse but I was too wrecked to speak. I grabbed it with my shaky hands and let the cool liquid soothe my cracked lips and dry throat. I went to hand her back the water when I noticed a scar on my hand. Long and faint. Like a burn. But it was almost shaped into something I couldn't quite make out. Caitleigh followed my gaze. She paled.

“I'm sorry about what I did. You deserve to know. I was just afraid that would happen or something worse.” Before I could comment she reached into her jacket pocket and handed me an old folded paper. But before I take it from her, I say what I should've said from the start. “ No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blown up at you. You were only trying to help.” She nodded but hurt still showed through her eyes.

I unfold the paper. In careful handwriting, there was a poem.

I was never afraid of the dark

Not until the monsters came to be

Till the darkness wrapped around me

So, I unsheathe my sword

And I held it high

Until I saw

Though truly mine

The reflection cracked at the side

A light-haired girl and dark blue eyes

I stare... my mind slowly breaking down. “I-I don't understand. That's my Description ... I have light hair and dark blue eyes (most of the time). But its ... My handwriting. I never wrote this” I said shakily. Not sure who I was trying to convince.

Caitleigh didn't respond. Instead, she handed me one other thing. On the same type of worn paper, there was a drawing. It was of a girl with eyes as cold as ice. But something about the eyes seemed different. They seemed cracked, scarred, and like a story. Everything else seemed normal. Who was this?

I whispered to myself “Do I know you?”

The paper was torn but had a piece of tape holding it together.

“You- you don't know who that is?” Caitleigh said wide-eyed with concern.

“She seems familiar...but I can't remember. Do I know her? Should I know her?”

“I-I can't believe it, they really did follow through with it,” she said with a gulp.

“Wha-” then I saw it. The girl on the paper. The emotion on her face was a mixed overwhelming look, not just one feeling. Something you knew all too well. You saw the spark in her eyes.

That's when I really understood the poem. The truth. The world is doomed by humanity. It's all humanity. Cracked. Reflection is split in two ways. Both are inaccurate with twisted proportions. We're all monsters on the inside, mostly to ourselves- my mission-then the memories came flooding back, reliving the trauma before I could even finish uncovering more of the poem.

The puzzle clicked in place. I gasped sharply and tried to steady myself. "Who tampered with my memory,” I asked in a grave tone with fire I didn't know I had. “And tried to keep everyone from the truth?”

I'll show them the light-haired girl with a spark in her fiery eyes.

I’ll show them all.